Wins
by Newport and Flat Out/Equine Law set Colee Finals
By
Alex Webbe
Newport (Gene Goldstein, Joaquin Panelo, Esteban Panelo
and Mariano Gonzalez) scored consecutive wins over Ruby Q (Brian Street, Diego
Cossio, Kris Kampsen and J. J. Celis) 3-2 and Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Jason
Crowder, Joey Casey and Juan Bollini) 4-3 Friday afternoon in the opening round
of play in the 2012 Kay Colee Memorial Cup to qualify for Sunday’s finals.
Flat Out/Equine Law (Avery Chapman, Paul Knapp, Brandon
Phillips and Nic Roldan) closed out the day with a 13-7 romp over Audi (Marc
Ganzi, Wes Finlayson, Jeff Hall and Tommy Biddle) to secure the other tournament
finalist berth.
Piaget flexed its muscles in the opening three chukker
match of the round-robin by downing Ruby Q 6-2 in a game that saw Jason
Crowder, Juan Bollini and Joey Casey each score a pair of goals. Ruby Q got single goals from Diego Cossio and
Kris Kampsen but was clearly outmatched in the loss.
Ruby Q held the field for the second three-chukker
contest in which the scored the opening goal of the game with a goal from the
field from Cossio, leading at the end of the first chukker, 1-0. Newport responded consecutive goals in the second
from Mariano Gonzalez and Gene Goldstein while shutting out the Ruby Q
offensive for a 2-1 advantage with one chukker left to play. Kampsen converted a penalty shot in the third
chukker with Esteban Panelo ending the game with a goal from the field in the
3-2 win.
The showdown between Piaget and Newport would be for a
position in Sunday’s finals with Juan Bollini scoring the first goal of the
game for an early 1-0 Piaget lead. Esteban
Panelo tied it up at 1-1 with his second goal of the day. Newport moved ahead 3-1 on a pair of goals
from Gene Goldstein in the second, but Jason Crowder cut the lead to a single
goal, 3-2, with his third goal of the afternoon. Joaquin Panelo’s first goal of the game
pushed Newport ahead, 4-2 before Crowder scored again as Piaget continued to
trail, 4-3. Desperate measures couldn’t
turn the tide in the final minute of play, however, as Newport held on for the
4-3 victory.
FLAT
OUT/EQUINE LAW 13, AUDI 7
Flat Out/Equine Law took control of the second match from
the opening throw-in and pummeled Audi 13-7 to capture a spot against Newport
in Sunday’s finals of the 2012 Kay Colee Memorial Cup at the Grand champions
Polo Club in Wellington.
Two early goals from Paul Knapp were complimented by a
goal from Brandon Phillips as Flat Out/Equine Law ran off with an early 3-0
lead after the first seven minutes of play.
A pair of goals from 8-goaler Nic Roldan in the second
was answered by a penalty conversion from Audi team captain Marc Ganzi. Ganzi
followed up with a goal from the field to trail, 5-2. Phillips scored the final goal of the second
chukker for a commanding 6-2 Flat Out/Equine Law advantage.
Both defenses tightened up in the third, with Roldan’s
sole penalty conversion accounting for all of the offense as Flat Out/Equine
Law extended its lead at the end of the first half to five goals, 7-2.
A new-look Audi took the field in the fourth, picking up
single goals from Ganzi, Jeff Hall and a penalty goal from Tommy Biddle. Avery chapman kept Flat Out/Equine Law from
getting blanked with a goal. Audi
continued to trail, 8-5.
Goals from Phillips and Roldan were countered by a
penalty conversion for a goal from Hall, and with one chukker left to play, Flat
Out/Equine Law sat on top of a 10-6 advantage.
Hall’s second goal of the game cut the Flat Out/Equine Law lead back to
three goals10-7, but Flat Out/Equine Law wasn’t intimidated at all, Phillips,
Roldan and Knapp added single goals to end the game with a decisive 13-7 win.
The 2012 Kay Colee Memorial Cup is scheduled to continue
with Piaget, Ruby Q and Audi playing in a 10 am Sunday morning consolation
round-robin on the Grand Champions Polo Club fields while Flat Out/Equine Law
will face Newport in the tournament finals at noon.